Rise of the Sixth Guardian
by thathyperloudfangirlchick
Summary: It has been a year since Pitch was defeated. Winter is ending, spring is coming, and it's being heralded by Valentine's Day. However, something, or someone, is out to ruin it. Meanwhile, Jack is starting to realize that he's never fallen in love before. One confusing, alluring girl is coming to solve the first problem. Read on to see about the second one.
1. Manny's Warning

"Jamie!" Jack called out as he swooped down next to the small boy. "Ready to enjoy one of the last days of winter?" Jamie frowned as he kicked a small clump of snow as he walked.

"Jack, if it's the last day of winter, we won't see each other as much." He frowned more, his big eyes gazing sadly at Jack, making him shake his head and ruffle Jamie's hair affectionately. He conjured a snowflake that landed on Jamie's nose in his signature burst of blue sparkle, effortlessly making Jamie smile.

"Don't worry yourself, Jamie! Just cause I have to go bring winter to other kids doesn't mean I won't see you. You know the wind will bring me back home," Jack said comfortingly, patting Jamie's head before dropping a heap of snow onto it. Jamie laughed and ran after him, Jack reveling in the sound of the childish laughter ringing through the streets of Burgess. Jamie ran past Pippa, Claude, and Caleb, and when they saw he was running after Jack, they joined in the chase. 'How strange it must look to the adults, all these kids running after nothing,' Jack thought, amused. He dipped down, skimming over the snow covered sidewalk, and packed a snowball. When he got to the park, to the top of the Thomas Burgess statue, he threw the snowball at the back of Cupcake's head, and hid behind the stone figure while Jamie, at the forefront of kids, looked like the perpetrator. Cupcake grinned evilly as she looked down at the orb of snow bigger than Jamie's head. 'Uh-oh,' Jamie thought as he tried to run behind Claude... but he failed, and the huge snowball whacked him in the back of the head, knocking him face down in the snow. The small group laughed and laughed their heads off until Jamie grabbed Caleb and stuffed the icy slush down the front of his coat. Claude defended his brother by launching a snowball at Jamie but missing and hitting Pippa, and they were off, the children running around in a flurry of flailing, running, and giggling.

Jack perched at the top of the statue, one leg hanging down and one pulled up, tucked under his chin. His cerulean eyes sparkled with both mischief and amusement as the small group ran around, laughing, and not for the first time, Jack was extremely grateful he accepted the role of Guardian to these kids and the kids around the world. It had been a year since the guardians defeated Pitch, dragged to Moon knows where by his own fears. Jack observed the quaint townspeople, walking about, doing their shopping, playing with their kids. He observed some workers putting up Valentine's Day banners and sales people changing the winter clothes display in the store windows. He closed his eyes in a moment of serenity, drinking in the childrens' laughter and the smell of the snow and reflecting on the last year. It had been quiet, peaceful. He and the other guardians became quite close over that time, even him and Bunny, although he still liked to call him a Kangaroo occasionally. North and Tooth became the parental figures he never remembered having. Yetis became friends, elves became little siblings to take care of, Tooth's baby teeth became treasured companions, and Jamie and Sophie were important family to him and the rest of the guardians. Jack suddenly had the family and childhood that he could not recall for the life of him, and he was eternally grateful.

And yet... those nights where he wasn't with the guardians or Jamie, those nights were he overlooked snow capped cities and dimly lit villages at night from above, those nights where he propelled through the sky with just his thoughts, he couldn't help but feel something. The lack of something. Even with all that has been given him, he was still missing something, but he just couldn't figure-  
WHAM! Jack fell off the statue and landed in the snow on his back. When he sat up, shaking the snow off his face, he realized the little ankle biters had thrown a snowball at HIM. The kids all bit their lips, holding in their laughter and pointing at one another. Not knowing who was guilty, and honestly not caring, Jack grinned mischievously, a grin that the kids knew meant evil, wonderful fun times. With one wave of his staff, he had five snowballs hovering in the air, like arrows at the ready.

"You have three seconds." The kids dispersed, all of them scampering off into different directions in hope of escaping the winter spirit.

Jack only gave them two seconds before all hell broke loose.  
-

"I'll see you soon, Jamie. Go to sleep, okay? I'll be back before you know it," Jack said comfortingly, tucking Jamie in. However, Jamie still looked vaguely troubled as he laid there, nervous and fidgeting. "Something wrong, man?" Jamie still fidgeted, his fingers twisted around each other on the bedspread.

"Jack, what's it like to be in love?!" Jamie blurted out, his honest eyes gazing up at Jack in childish curiosity. Jack sputtered at the forward question and rubbed at the back of his neck in hesitation.

"Well... I don't really know, Jamie. I've never fallen in love before, I guess. When I was human, I was too young to fall in love, and since I've been Jack Frost, I was either alone or I can't look at the girls around me that way. What brought this on?" he asked, before pondering the pink, red, and white streamers being hung up earlier and the similarly red flush splattered across Jamie's cheeks. "Well, looks likes my little man is in love. Who's the lucky girl?" Jamie's face brightened as he sat up in the bed excitedly.

"Pippa! she's just the prettiest girl in the whole town, isn't she?" Jack chuckled in amusement before patting Jamie's head fondly.

"You know what, kid? Just like the guardians and I are real, Cupid is real too! Maybe I should ask her for a favor, huh, kiddo?" he teased. He walked to the window and opened it, winking teasingly at Jamie. While Jamie seemed to seriously consider it, Jack made note of the Valentine's Day banners and streamers outside. Instead of the vibrant, bright hues they were earlier, they seemed darker, smudged with dirt and grime. Instead of waving in the brisk Winter air, they seemed to sag in their spots, drooping like wilted flowers. What looked like a black blur of motion swept past in a flash, and one by one, the banners fell down, forlorn and discarded on the street. Despite him being the spirit of Winter, the sight put a foreboding chill tingling sharply though his spine.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Jack turned to look at Jamie, childish wonder and adoration replaced by an innocent concern.

"Don't you worry yourself, Jamie. Get some rest, and I'll see you soon, yeah? Go have sweet dreams of Pippa!" Jamie sputtered and flailed while Jack jumped out the window, a pocket of air cushioning his landing while his laugh floated up to the window and lulled Jamie to sleep.

He walked over to the banners on the snow and poked it with his staff. His frost flowered on the thin fabric hearts, but he was disturbed by the dark dullness of the ice instead of its usual white glow. A white beam shined upon the frost, and Jack looked up and smiled at his old friend.

"Manny! What's up?" He asked, looking up at the glowing moon and the man in it.

_Old friend. Go to the guardians. They need you._ Jack's smile fell as his brow furrowed, and the tingle in his spine was brought back with full, violent force.

"Why? What's wrong?!"

_ Just deliver this message, Jack Frost. Pitch is back. Pitch is back, and I will send help. _


	2. Meeting the New Guardian

"WHAT?"

Jack, Tooth, Bunny, Sandy, and all the surrounding yetis and elves covered the ears as North's shout reverberated throughout the Pole, the vibrations tumbling a pyramid of toys that had been painstakingly built and painted.

"What do you MEAN Pitch is back?! That cannot BE! He is gone, we see this ourselves! Dragged down by his own nightmares! He is not back!" North said, waving his swords back and forth, not noticing the other guardians keeping a reasonable distance away from his ranting tirade. Jack, safely five feet over North's white head, looked down in apology.

"I know, I know, but the Man in the Moon told me himself. And the deal with those banners earlier... Something's wrong, and this definitely feels like Pitch." Tooth ventured out from behind the globe, fretting as her wings flit skittishly. Even her Baby Teeth were in a small tizzy around her as she nervously stuttered while giving them orders.

"But what exactly does he mean by help? Is he reinstating another guardian? If so, where is he? Why hasn't he spoken to us yet? What is Pitch going to do? Oh, my molars-!" Tooth looked down and saw a dark mass of shadow below her; she scrambled, flying behind North. Jack chuckled before tugging on one of her top feathers and looking up at the bright glowing moon shining through the opening in the ceiling.

"That's YOUR shadow, Tooth," he said affectionately as she peeked her head out and smiled at him. She too looked up at the sky as everyone hoped for some sort of explanation. "Manny. What's going on?"

_As I said, Pitch is back. Except this time, he seems angrier, scarier... darker. There is something darker to his aura this time, probably as a result of a year trapped with his own nightmares. This darkness... I have not seen something like this, even in the dark times. That is why I feel you will need help. _

Everyone took a worried expression, faces contorted with confusion and fear as to what could be so bad and dark that the Big Five needed help. Then the moon shone on them, and the warm glow soothed them as it roved over each one's face before settling in the center of the star on the ground. The panel in the floor started to open, striking nostalgia in four of the people around the star. All of them even laughed as Bunny muttered under his breath, hoping it wouldn't be the Groundhog. As the fog in the crystal cleared, an image showed up of...

"Cupid!" North said, nodding approvingly. The others around the circle smiled approvingly, some shoulders visibly relaxing at the news, while Jack just remained confused and stared, perplexed at the image. It was a girl with angel wings and long hair, which he had not expected. She smiled brightly in the crystal, all teeth showing and seeming to glow, and her eyes crinkled in mirth, wrinkling what looked to be a small heart shaped mark next to her right eye. She looked sweet, happy, innocent almost... if not for the two crossbows in her hands at her sides, both armed with heart tipped arrows.

"Cupid is a girl?!" he exclaimed, that being the first question to leave his lips. North laughed and clapped him on the back, laughing joyfully like the jolly old man he was. Tooth tittered in glee, and her baby teeth joined her; Sandy noiselessly laughed as the sand seemed to swirl around him happily as well. Lastly, Bunny smirked under his breath, chuckling condescendingly at Jack's confusion until Jack just slammed down his staff onto the ground. The frost bloomed across the floor, freezing the things or people in contact with the floor. Sandy and tooth flew away, but Bunny, unable to fly, had both his feet stuck to the ground. Jack smirked while Bunny jerked his feet of the floor, knocking himself down onto his back.

"Ha ha, very funny, you bloody bugger." Jack shrugged nonchalantly before turning back to gaze at the crystal. "That's right, you've never met Cupid yet, have ya, mate?" Bunny smirked, while the others smiled with fondness and amusement. "This is gonna be a doozy," he said, smirking at Jack again, while Jack just looked around in confusion.

"WHAT IS SO FUNNY?!"

* * *

"_Let's see... This needs to be timed perfectly. The girl is at 3 0'clock. The boy is at 12 straight ahead. 1...2...3!" _Cupid loosed the arrows and both hit the girl and boy spot on as their paths collided at the corner of the sidewalk. The girl tripped over a very well placed rock, and the boy caught her, both their hearts jumped out of their chests. As the boy scratched the back of his neck in nerves and the girl clasped her hands behind her back like a little schoolgirl, Cupid smiled from high in the air. _'Another couple destined to be together. How absolutely beautiful.' _She descended down onto a nearby rooftop and watched more as the young teenage couple fumbled in the confusion of first love. Thanks to a very well-placed rock, the girl stumbled and fell into the boy's arms. Their blushes took over their faces, particularly the boy who undoubtedly caught a whiff of the perfume the girl was wearing. '_Ah, young love... Teenagers."_ She turned to the other side, preparing to blow a kiss until a figure stepped out the shadows.

"Hey there, Sheila. Still ruining lives?" Bunny swaggered up to her, ruffling her long black hair. She smiled easily and put away her crossbows, holstering them to her belt as she hugged Bunny tightly, the top of her head only coming up to his furry chin. She looked up at him with the mischievous innocence of a child, so characteristic of the spirit of love.

"You know I don't ruin lives. I make them better! Oh, if I can only make you fall in love! With a nice yeti or elf... maybe a baby tooth, although Tooth would not really enjoy that, I think," Cupid said, the conniving glint in her eye betraying the sweet, saccharine tone in her voice.

"Ha-ha, very funny, ya brat." He tweaked her nose and smiled affectionately at the girl he called a little sister as she wrinkled her nose at him. "As much of an absolute dandy that sounds, we got bigger business to deal with." Bunny took a shimmery glass ball from his bag, one that Cupid recognized as a snow ball. "At the Pole." Cupid only furrowed her brow at the glass orb. She opened her mouth, an innocent question about to leave her lips-

Then the yetis slipped the burlap sack over her head.


	3. Her Fear

"BUNNY, IF YOU DON'T LET ME OUT OF THIS SACK, I WILL SKIN YOU AND USE YOUR PELT AS A COAT."

"Ooh, that doesn't sound like sweet, gentle Cupid, girlie."

"LOVE CAN BE VICIOUS. LIKE WHEN I VICIOUSLY ROAST YOU OVER A SPIT." At this point, Bunny upended the sack, letting her unceremoniously tumble out the opening. Her hair in disarray, she glared at Bunny before slapping him with a crossbow and tending to her wings.

"ASS! WINGS ARE NOT MEANT TO BE PUT INTO A BAG. LOOK AT MY FEATHERS!" She billowed her wings out for emphasis, the clear white feathers only slightly out of place. Tooth flew to her and patted her head.

"Don't I know it. These silly boys don't understand how hard these things are to take care of," Tooth tittered, rolling her eyes. The girl smiled and hugged her.

"Well, everyone, where are my hugs?" She exclaimed, opening her arms. All of the guardians gathered around her, calmed and soothed by her embrace. All except Jack Frost, who stood solemnly to the side. After they let go of each other, she glanced to him.

"Well, well, who is this?" She said, gliding over to him. "Pretty Jack Frost? My, you were right, Tooth, freshly fallen snow! Put 'er there, Jack!" She stuck her hand out amiably, that sweet smile on her face. He took her hand, surprised when she pulled him into a hug, her arms going around his waist. He only had time to widen his eyes before her scent hit his nose.

'_Oh...oh wow. She smells so good. She smells like honey... And wind. And her wings look so soft... She's so soft... Mmm..." _

"Jack?" He recoiled at the call of his name, snapping out of his daze and looking at the amused faces all around him. He looked down, and even though she had let go of him, he had held onto her, one arm around her waist and one hand trailing fingertips over the ridge of her wings. She giggled in his arms, the heart by her eyes crinkling- dare he say it- adorably.

He let go of her quickly, his arms spread out as he backed away, an unusual warmth spreading across his usually cold face. She giggled before shaking her head.

"Just a glamour. You'll get used to the pheromones after a while, Jack. Everyone else has." She smiled at him before North clapped a hand on both their shoulders.

"Introductions are in order! Jack! This is Aphrodite, or DiDi, as you may call her! DiDi, this is Jack Frost! But you've already heard of him." He furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Your name is Aphrodite?" She rolled her eyes.

"Everyone thinks my name is Cupid! It's not! The cupids are the little flying babies, not me!

"I dunno, ya look like a flying baby brag to me," Bunny pitched in.

"HUSH IT, RODENT. ROASTING YOU OVER A SPIT IS A VIABLE OPTION," she yelled, her eyes flashing to a shimmery red, her black and pink braid twisting as she whipped her head to face him. At that moment, something hit Bunny in the head, and when he turned around, it hit him again. "Down!" DiDi commanded. The thing, it turned out, was a flying baby who went to DiDi. She held him gingerly while kissing his forehead.

"Yer bloody Cupids, lemme tell ya, I'll get em ona these days."

"You'll do no such thing if you want your tail STILL ATTACHED TO YOUR BODY." She glared at Bunny before whispering to the baby and sending him off, blowing him a kiss as he flew off, the kiss leaving her lips in a pink tinted breeze before fading.

"SO!" She exclaimed, turning to North. "Will someone explain why I was stuffed into a sack and shoved through a snow portal?

"Yes... About that..." North began.

-—

"No. No. Absolutely not. No way in hell. Impossible." DiDi's eyes flashed gray, her wings protectively curling around her sides. North stroked his beard in worry.

"I know, but Man in Moon tell us this himself. It is truth. He also tells us you are new guardian! This is reason to celebrate." He brought out the large book to swear her in, but she raised her bow menacingly, her irises glowing red.

"I refuse." North stammered and hesitantly stepped towards her.

"What, what you mean, you refuse?"

"I mean, NO! I have my job, I have my purpose, you will not mess with that! I have been QUIET. The Guardians are what Pitch hate most, and he has never for one moment messed with me. I REFUSE."

'_Diana, help me help me the fire I'M SCARED_" DiDi backed away, her wings shielding her as she tugged at her hair. Jack Frost stepped forward, a guarded distance away.

"I saw his shadows. They tore down Valentine's Day decorations. They scared me. And they'll scare others too. They'll scare the children. We just want to protect them, and I imagine you want to protect them too." He reached out a hand, his stance radiating comfort and confidence. "Be a guardian with us. We want to protect the kids, and we'll protect you too." DiDi peeked out from behind the snowy feathers and reached out a tentative hand, taking his. He lead the suddenly frail, scared girl to North who awaited her with a smile. She stood tall, her wings fanning out as she looked him straight in the eyes. The elves started their fanfare, and as she started the oath, surrounded by these people that she cared about, she dreaded another fated encounter with Pitch Black.


End file.
